Serialkillers and fathers
by donttouch
Summary: Tony's relationship with his father is deteriorating with his father hurting him physicly and emotionally. At the same time Tony and Gibbs discovers the serialkiller they never caught coming forward to play with them. Rated M for my safety.
1. Chapter 1

"Boss, my back's shot today," Tony said.

"Did you just admit to being hurt?" Gibbs asked. Tony shrugged and winced. "What happened to your back?"

"Stretched too far I guess," Tony smiled. While sort of true, the real problem were the cuts that had happened when he'd met up with his damn father, and said father had proceeded to push him until he fell onto the glass coffeetable when Tony had dared meantioning the, obviously, new stepmother he had never known about. He might also have asked which number she was, eight or nine. Or possible twelve. And how young she was, younger than Tony. Yeah, he hadn't thought about the reprecussions, but he sure felt them. A week had passed and his back didn't feel like it was burning any more, just itching like crazy and pulling tight when he stretched because of all the stitches.

"Happened to your hands?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, I went on a date, Boss. You know those colored glass bottles are really slippery when wet? Anyway, my date dropped the bottle, I thought I'd catch it and I forgot my back was hurting so I bend down, remember, fall, catch myself on my hands...never thought those bottles would break that easy, I mean the ground was covered in snow!" Tony said. Gibbs sighed and glared at Tony. "Hey, blame my date, *I* wasn't the one drinking on a schoolnight."

"But you were out late dating?" Gibbs asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Didn't know there was a law about me dating at night," Tony grinned.

"There is if you get hurt," Gibbs growled and walked away.

"Boss what do I-"

"Get McGee and Kate to do it. It's what they get paid for!" Gibbs said over his shoulder. Tony sighed...yeah that'd be easy enough...IF the two believed his story.

-0-

They didn't. Kate had, and Tony quoted her in his head, said the following: "I know you Tony. If it was life threatening I'd have to rip the bags out of your hands. As it is, you're telling me, that means at MOST a strained muscle," she snorted and left, "Carry your own damn bags, it's what you get paid for!" she hurried to catch up to McGee who had mumbled a: "I'm not your slave, Tony," and left too. So here Tony was, carrying the bags of equipment down a steep and slipper embankment, feeling them rub against the stitches. He was wrong before, it hadn't stopped feeling like it was on fire...well maybe it had, but now it sure felt like it was back again! Clenching his jaw he made his way down only to come face to face with Gibbs.

"Thought I told you to let McGee and Todd handle the equipment," Gibbs remarked.

"Apparantly I get paid the same as them," Tony deadpanned. Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "what?" he asked.

"Thought I *told* you to let *McGee* and *Todd* handle the equipment," Gibbs repeated.

"And I'm carrying them right now, what does *that* tell you?" Tony growled angrily. He usually didn't get pissy with Gibbs but right now the man was keeping him from putting the equipment down onto the ground and his back was starting to really burn!

"Your back's really hurting?" Gibbs asked. Tony gave a nod and Gibbs grabbed two of the bags, then three, then the last two things. "You sketch," Gibbs said.

"Sweet. Thanks," Tony gave a relieved smile, still clenching his jaw against the onslaught of pain. When they reached the crimescene, and a very surprised Kate and McGee watched as their Boss carried the equipment in front of Tony, Gibbs unzipped one bag and handed the sketchpad and pencil to Tony.

"Kate, bag and tag. McGee, camera. You two carry the equipment. It's your JOB!" Gibbs barked the last word leaving no room for whining at all. Gibbs spotted Ducky in a heated discussion with Palmer making their way down the slippery and steep embankment towards the dead body laying face down in the dirt, upper body bare and bruised, hands tied together with three fingers missing behind his back, and the broken car tipped onto its side next to him, burnt out. That meant the body was also zinged but lucky enough, depending who you spoke to, most of it was intact. "Duck!" Gibbs said. Ducky looked down at Gibbs and a smile graced the old mans features. The two, the ME and the assistant, came down to the flat area and hurried over to the dead man in the dirt. "Kate, anything jump out at you?"

"Well, from the top it seemed like a very ordinary caraccident...but obviously, he's been beaten with something heavy. If I was the betting type I'd say he was killed before he ever got here," she said.

"Not usefeull," Gibbs growled and walked over to McGee who managed a small squeak which made Gibbs snarl and move on to Tony. "Do YOU have something usefull?" Gibbs growled angrily.

"Well, there's a dead body right there," Tony pointed to the dead body. Gibbs was about to slap him in the back of his head, but then Tony spoke again. "See those round marks? I've seen those kind of marks before, te way the bruises spread and the positioning tells me whoever did this used a sledgehammer. Sledgehammers plus three cut off fingers usually equals some kind of mob activety," Tony continued. Gibbs felt himself relax slightly. "I'd search up unsolved murders where the victims had fingers being cut off," Tony said. "OR," he said when Gibbs turned to go over to Ducky, "This could be a very disturbing way to count victims for a serial killer," Tony shrugged. Gibbs twisted himself awkwardly to look at Tony, searching Tony's face for any trace of humor. He didn't find any. "Just saying, I caught a case in Maryland with a guy with one finger missing." Gibbs walked back to Tony.

"The murder we shared in Baltimore had a guy with two fingers missing turning up in the middle of our investigation," Gibbs finished for him. They both looked over at the body. "You know how I feel about coincidences?" Gibbs asked.

"Don't believe in coincidences," Tony said. "But, we have to not let ourselves be biased, Boss. If it comes down to it, we handle it. Meanwhile we consider it and try to disprove it," Tony shrugged. Gibbs gave a nod but Tony could already feel Gibbs's mind working overtime. "Boss," Tony said. Gibbs looked at him. "Don't get carried away with this," he said quietly. Low enough for the others to wonder what they were saying, loud enough for Gibbs to hear it. "I can't headslap you but I can damn well remove you from the case if you run with the idea that this has to be the same killer," Tony glared pointedly at Gibbs. Gibbs nodded and Tony saw the spark waver a bit and then soften in Gibbs's eyes.

"You're right DiNozzo," Gibbs sighed. "Thank you," he walked over to Ducky. "Get to work!" he barked at Kate and McGee. "What do you have for me Duck?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, nothing right now, help me roll him over Mr. Palmer," Ducky said. They rolled him over and Gibbs called for Tony to come over. Tony walked over and stood next to Gibbs.

"Still think we shouldn't go in biased?" Gibbs asked.

"Nah Boss, I'm beginning to think I was right, it's his way of counting," Tony shrugged. Two pictures were stapled to the dead mans stomach along with writing. The pictures showed the two earlier deaths Tony had been talking about. The writing said:

_"my FrIeNDs, i HEaR you are both agents now. see you soon. ps since the people that took over the cases could never decipher my code I decided to make it easy this time."_

"Writing still sucks," Tony said.

"DiNozzo..."

"Yes Boss," Tony said, "When we get back I'll go through my old casefiles," he sighed, "I *hate* paperwork!"

-0-

AN: Okay so I started this up. Not sure when I can update it but it's probably a bit confusing for most of you. Didn't I promise to start a sequel to Sam soon too? The answer is yes, yes I did. I actually started it but then it sort of killed itself with a hammer and my brain refused to let me live my life. So this is the result. :D Also, about the updating, I wrote this chapter today as a promise to myself that I would practice on my skills with this one. Love you guys!


	2. Stalling

Tony was sitting in the car, warming his hands on the small stream of warm air coming out of the dashboard. Ever since he had the plague he seemed to be getting cold more often than not, and he always had a hard time getting warm again. As soon as they'd seen the body they knew they were going to be having an argument about protection detail, and Gibbs had to call it in. The Director had ordered them off the crimescene to which Gibbs had furiously resisted the orders. Ultimately he'd been given an ultimatum, off the crimescene, or out of NCIS. Even then, Gibbs had been pissed and let the Director know so before he'd headed up the steep slope with Tony behind him. Right now, Tony was trying to get warm and Gibbs was trying to glare his way back to the crimescene from the top of the slope.

"Maybe you can melt the snow if you glare just a little bit harder," Tony joked. Gibbs's eyes turned to him and Tony looked down with a sigh. Okay, so no jokes today then. "Just trying to lighten the mood," Tony muttered and kept warming himself. After another minute or so he heard a muttered curse from Gibbs before the man headed over to the car, sitting in the drivers seat next to Tony.

"Still cold?" Gibbs asked. Tony gave a nod. "This sick bastard's been following you since Maryland," Gibbs continued. "Was there a note attached?"

"I didn't even see the body. Chief just said it had my name on it, I was a rookie so I had no say in anything," Tony shrugged. "Think Dale took the case. Nice enough guy, not the best Detective in the world. Sloppy," Tony explained when Gibbs looked at him.

"Sloppy's not good enough," Gibbs growled. "I want everything there is on that case."

"Then you better call'em Boss. My name leaves a bad taste in their mouths. Or so they said when I left," Tony gave a hint of a smile.

"I always wondered what it was you did to make them glad to see you leave," Gibbs said.

"I might've solved a few cases no one else could figure out. May have been asked out on more dates than the guy who figured he was the best looking guy there. Of course, it could be the fact that I got the Chief fired for enjoying hookers on company time. In his office," Tony cleared his throat.

"Really?" Gibbs asked. He found himself surprised. He hadn't heard anything about that because the Chief had given Tony recommendations to make Tony's head bigger than ever according to the file.

"Yeah, and the new Chief wanted me gone so he gave me reccomendations enough to get me clearance with the President if I wanted to," Tony chuckled. "Cops are like cows, Boss. You kill the bull and all you have is a bunch of pissed off and horny cows," Tony continued.

"Everyone horny in Peoria DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, distaste dripping from the words.

"Yup. Everyone," Tony grinned. "In fact there was this girl who used to go on dates with...shutting up, Boss," Tony's grin faltered when his eyes met Gibbs's pissed off ones.

"I don't like being left out of cases with my name on it. Or yours," Gibbs growled.

"I get that Boss. Just because we're not allowed on the crimescene doesn't mean we can't come here after it's processed. AND we got a good look at it before. Would be a shame if I had backup pictures, wouldn't it, Boss?" Tony grinned. Gibbs looked at him and smirked.

"Good work, DiNozzo."

"Always do my best, Boss!" Tony grinned back at him.

-0-

By the time they got back to NCIS, Tony was trying to find a way to tell Gibbs that he had to go meet with his father later that night. He wanted Gibbs to keep him at NCIS, because really, what fun would it be to bring another Agent to the mansion of humiliation? Anthony DiNozzo Senior was not a man Tony wanted to introduce to...well...anyone really. Especially not his fellow Agents. Tony blinked a few times because he heard the angry steps down the stairwell behind him. Gibbs had been spending a good hour with the Director and it had apparantly not been going in Gibbs's favor.

"We're getting sitters," Gibbs growled angrily as he walked past him.

"Great," Tony said with the fakest smile Gibbs had ever seen. In fact he'd never seen such a fake smile. It worried him that Tony seemed to be quiet this evening, but a serialkiller following you all the way through two precincts and your career at NCIS could do that to a man.

"Tried to stop it," Gibbs pointed out as he stopped by his desk.

"I know you did Boss," Tony said. "Hey, we have to work late, right?"

"Yes," Gibbs said as he sat down behind his own desk. The black coffeemug with 'The Boss' written on it carried all his pens and now he grabbed one, leaning back in his chair and glaring at the computer on his desk.

"So...there's no way I'm getting out tonight, right?" Tony sounded...hopefull?

"Get to the point, DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked.

"It's...uhm...you know what, forget it, I'll call him and say I won't make it. Catching a killer is way more important than him anyway," Tony grinned. He seemed...relieved? Gibbs frowned.

"Who were you going to meet?" Gibbs asked. Tony winced. Actually WINCED.

"My father," Tony sighed.

"Thought you and he didn't like each other," Gibbs said.

"And?" Tony asked.

"I'll track down the files we need, you just come back here tonight," Gibbs said, "When is it?"

"But...we have...we have lots of leads and...uh...eight," Tony cleared his throat. "But Boss, it's no problem, really, I can just phone him and inform him I'm stuck with a case, he'll understand."

"DiNozzo, you're free to go. Do you WANT to stay here and work?" Gibbs asked. And that was the problem, Tony thought, he DID want to stay and work. He didn't want anyone witnessing the humiliation that was a business dinner with his father. Besides, Gibbs didn't even know that it was a deal between Tony and his father. Tony would get money to organize a nice christmas party for the orphaned kids in the orphanage a few miles from his apartment plus a bonus. Pictures of his mother. Tony had never forgotten her but he wanted those pictures. He needed to look at pictures where he smiled, because he needed to remind himself that not all of his childhood had been crappy. "Chris is going with you," Gibbs said.

"Chris?" Tony asked. Damnit, the man was insightfull as hell! He wouldn't let ANYTHING go. And that was probably what Gibbs was counting on. "Sure Boss," Tony cleared his throat. Gibbs got up and moments later he returned with Pacci.

"Hey Tony, ready to go?" he asked.

"Aaah...yeeeah," Tony hesitated while looking over his desk. "Yeah, I'm ready," Tony cleared his throat. His father was NOT going to appreciate Chris Pacci's presence.

-0-

AN: Oh..I forgot...kind of. Chris Pacci is alive. *cough* So, another chapter in what seems to possibly become a good story from me. Has to happen once in a while, right? Any mistakes are my own, btw. I suck at writing these days but I have a good excuse. I'm Norwegian xD


	3. Meet the father

Tony had convinced Chris to wear one of Tony's Armani suits. It was a bit big for him but better than what he would've been wearing for this dinner. Tony had dressed in his best suit and used lots of time on his appearance. It was important to his father, and Tony would gladly play the nice son for the chance to make the kids at the orphanage happy. The fact that Tony's father owned the lot the orphanage was on and threatened to tear it down to build a hotel there if Tony didn't behave probably didn't have anything to do with his behavior at all, Tony thought, sarcasm even seeping into his own head.

"Important dinner?" Chris asked. Tony put some more styling gel in his hair. He had to look sharp.

"Yep," Tony answered. "Look, Chris...I'm probably not going to be...me. You know, the goofy guy at the office? This is a really important dinner so...just...don't read too much into it okay?"

"Sure Tony," Chris answered with a smile. "We should get going if we're gonna make it in time," he looked at the watch Tony had made him wear. "Expensive thing, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Tony knew Chris meant the watch, "My father gave it to me last weekend," he continued. "Okay, I'm ready," he said and followed Chris to his door while he silently prayed that his father wouldn't drink himself into a stupor and beat the crap out of him with Chris there.

-0-

Watching the big gates open up to a perfectly trimmed lawn with a fountain and rosebeds decorating the sides of the gravelled driveway, Chris gave a whistle. He was impressed with the sheer size of the mansion and the lot that went with it.

"He lives this close?"

"Nah, this is where he goes for business in DC," Tony replied as he drove his Mustang up the driveway. He winced as he heard the small rocks hitting underneath the car, his baby was in good condition and he wanted to keep it that way. "Just...follow my lead, okay?"

"Sure thing Tony. This place is HUGE!" Chris grinned. He'd driven by this place more than once, but this time there were lights in every window, not like Chris remembered it with its stern facade and quiet doors at all. The entire mansion was two stories, and the width of three normal houses. It was white, and the steps up to the door was in beautiful italian marble. Everything was carved beautifully, it really was a nice house. "Man, your family is loaded, why'd you become a cop anyway?"

"Money isn't everything," Tony said as he gazed up at the mansion. Then he shook out of his mood and stepped out of the car. Chris followed him while searching the lot for potential dangers. They walked up the few steps and Tony pressed the doorbell. It gave a loud sound and the door opened to reveal a man about sixty years old, white hair covering his head, a mustache, and warm brown eyes.

"Giovanni," Tony greeted.

"Ah, he is expecting you and your company. They are gathered in the livingroom Anthony," Giovanni smiled. There was something more there, Chris noted, a hint of sadness he just couldn't figure out. "He has had a bad day and there are bad news in store I'm afraid."

"Isn't it always," Tony smiled gently at him. "Chris, this is Giovanni, he's my fathers butler."

"Hi," Chris said and shook the mans hand.

"You are protecting Anthony, si?" he asked. Mexico, Chris thought.

"Yes," Chris said.

"You have to do a very good job. Anthony always gets into trouble. Even in his fathers home," Giovanni stopped when Tony cleared his throat loudly. Chris promised himself to find out more about that particular statement, simply because it was so cryptic. "You may step inside now," Giovanni got out of the way and they shrugged out of their coats. Chris looked around the hall they had stepped into. The walls themselves were impressive, and the big marble stairscase that divided further up, splitting into two to get to the floor above them was particularly impressive. This was not a cheap mansion, Chris could tell that much. The marble floors were polished and everything about the place screamed money and power from every angle. NOTHING was left out of place here. For a brief moment Chris wondered how Tony had even survived being in this place because as he knew Tony, the man was as messy as they came, yet always had order in his chaos. As they walked behind Giovanni to the livingroom however, Chris started to feel slightly overwhelmed with the golden walls, the marbled floor and the expensive interior. It seemed so...cold. Distant almost. Not a place where a kid like Tony would be happy.

"Special Senior Field Agent Anthony Damien DiNozzo Junior and Special Senior Field Agent and team leader Christopher Pacci sirs," Giovanni said. DiNozzo Senior looked like an older version of Tony except for the cold eyes as they landed on his son. Then his entire face morphed into a big smile and he stood.

"Junior, come, come sit," Senior smiled and pointed to two chairs right by his side. "I hear you got into trouble once again," he said. "And you must be Christopher," Senior held out a hand and Chris shook it vigorously.

"It's a pleassure to meet you, sir," Chris said.

"It's a pleassure to meet the man protection my son," the man smiled. But there was something in his eyes that made Chris's skin crawl, it was like Senior didn't really mean it at all. "Come, sit, we are just waiting for the meal to be finished, honestly, good cooks are so hard to come by these days," he said and was met by chuckles from the other somber men in the room. As they sat down with the six strangers in the room, Senior cleared his throat. "Anthony, this is Gerard Gettler, he's from Germany and a very important man. In fact he made his company a world renowned name, you might recognize it, it's Gettler's pharmasuitical. They are on their way to becoming the worlds best!" Senior announced proudly. Tony stood stiffly and shook the other mans hand.

"If you wish to do business, my father is the man you'll want to deal with," Tony said and smiled tightly as he went back to his seat. Chris felt uncomfortable with this version of Tony.

"This is his companions, they work for him," Senior said and made a gesture to the other five men. Tony greeted them all with a handshake and then went back to his seat.

"I hear you are in law enforcment?" Gettler asked Tony.

"Yes sir, I work for NCIS," Tony answered politely. Chris wondered where his buddy had gone, Tony was never like this. In fact, Tony had quite a few problems with authority and calling people 'sir' was something he just didn't do. He was the only one who had NEVER made the mistake of calling Gibbs 'sir'. Not even once.

"And your father tells me you have gotten into some trouble? Not medicly I hope?" he asked.

"No sir, I'm healthy and happy. We managed to land a case that involved some of my earlier cases. This is why Special Agent Pacci is my companion for the evening," Tony said.

"Oh, Anthony, you simply must tell the man that you survived the plague!" Senior said. There were a few gasps in the room.

"The plague?" Gettler asked, open mouthed. Senior seemed to revel in the fact that he had made the man speechless as he swiwelled his scotch in his glass.

"Yes sir, I was infected by a geneticly manipulated version of the pneumonic plague. Antibiotics didn't help at all, but the string had a suicide gene."

"He was given a fifteen percent chance of surviving. That was dark times, Anthony, I was afraid I would lose you to that damn decease!" Senior said. Chris refrained from saying anything, but God knew he wanted to wipe that look off of Senior's face. The man had sent a card. A CARD! And a teddybear that Tony couldn't have anywhere, because of his fragile lungs, dressed as a cop. An insult to cops everywhere if you asked Chris. Chris knew for a fact that the man hadn't put a foot in the hospital. He hadn't been to see his only son when he was dying from the plague. THE PLAGUE for God's sake!

"But you are healthy?" Gettler asked, clearly concerned for Tony.

"I am, sir. I will be more affected by colds than others, but I am cleared for Field duty and I am allowed to continue my work," Tony gave a polite smile.

-0-

Dinner was a somber and formal affair. Pleasantries were exchanged and everyone stroked eachothers egoes. Chris couldn't wait until they were done here. At eleven, Tony's father asked to see Tony in his study. Tony agreed and Chris was left looking for the bathroom. He didn't find it downstairs and headed upstairs instead. As he walked down the corridor he heard a raised voice and stopped, not daring to move at all. He finally recognized Senior's voice.

_"...because you can't ever keep your big nose out of trouble I had to entertain not only your foolishness but also that of your idiot friend!" _Chris frowned. Tony must have said something because Senior was roaring with anger when he yelled again. _"How many times do I have to say this, I don't care if some killer is out hunting you, there's ALWAYS something with you! I am sick and tired of always being the good man while you are out enjoying yourself playing cops and robbers. I swear to God, it will be pure bliss when you take another bullet, at least then I can be the distraught father and you would be doing me a favor, namely being dead so I can stop being embarassed! You are weak, just like your whore of a mother!"_

"Is there a problem?" Giovanni asked quietly from behind Chris. Chris jumped and looked at the man. "I would not go in there or interrupt. It is likely to make it harder on Master Anthony," Giovanni sighed, and there was such a sadness in his eyes that made Chris want to run in and save Tony right away. "It would be best to ignore it. Master DiNozzo Senior has powerfull friends. Anthony knows this," Giovanni crypticly finished. "The bathroom is downstairs by the kitchen," he finished. Chris nodded his thanks and went after Giovanni down the stairs.

-0-

Chris didn't ask about the cut on Tony's head. He didn't need to. He knew instantly what had caused it. Gettler had stitched it up and Senior had served them all some sobstory about Tony falling down and how Senior had been scared to death. Chris wanted to strangle the man right away for being a liar. Now, sitting in the car with Tony, Chris wasn't sure what he was going to say, but he was saved from that when Tony gave a frustrated sigh.

"How much did you hear?" Tony asked.

"Enough to know who gave you that cut," Chris answered. Tony stopped by a coffeeshop and pulled the handbrake before turning to Chris.

"I'm going to go in and buy Gibbs some coffee. You want some too?" he asked casually. Chris nodded. "Look...don't tell Gibbs anything. I don't want him to get any fancy ideas of coming to my rescue okay? I can handle it, I always have." And with that, Tony got out and shut the door gently behind him before heading into the shop.

"That's what makes it sad, Tony," Chris said quietly to himself, "You shouldn't have to handle it. Ever."

-0-

AN: Okay so...how was that? Was that okay? I was worried it was turning into a "Tony and Pacci helps eachother out and Pacci goes mental trying to protect Tony - story" but I think I'm going to be able to salvage it xD Man, I'm so strange xD So...I haven't written another chappy yet but it'll come to me. I hope :P


	4. Tell a tale

Gibbs wasn't having much luck with getting information. Detective George Dale had been killed in the line of duty only two years after taking the case and there had been a fire in Maryland shortly after, destroying many casefiles and a lot of evidence. When he called Baltimore, they had searched everywhere for the file and had come up with an old photo. That was it. Now, Gibbs was entertaining the idea that their killer might have access to both Baltimore and Maryland's policeofficers and quarters. A fire concentrating on the evidence and the filecabinet containing a file was too much of a coincidence to let it go. Someone was horsing around and Gibbs was sick of it. He wanted the guy caught and he wanted him NOW! The situation wasn't getting any better either, because Gibbs knew Tony was somewhere out there with his father and that brought its own worries. Last time Gibbs heard of the man was when Tony let it slip that he'd gotten a beating for christmas instead of a present. The elevator dinged and the doors slid apart to reveal Tony and Chris Pacci, but Gibbs could tell that something had happened, because Chris looked at Tony with pity and Tony was ignoring him completely.

"Hey Boss, brought coffee and something to eat for all of us," Tony grinned.

"Oh ewwww...Tony I'm on a diet!" Kate complained as Tony flipped the lid off the pizzabox. Tony grinned.

"More for me!" he grabbed two slices of pizza and Gibbs watched as the man wolfed them both down. Tony placed Gibbs's coffee on Gibbs's desk, handed out McGee's coffee and Kate's coffee, and sat down behind his desk. That's when Gibbs spotted it, the small piece of gauze on the back of Tony's head.

"Nausea's not a problem," Gibbs growled. Tony looked at him immediatly.

"I fell, Boss. My father had his carpet changed in his office last week, I miscalculated, my foot got caught and I tripped, tumbled over one of those damn Italian chairs he loves and smacked my head against his new desk," Tony sighed. "It was stupid but I'm fine. Doctor actually told me that, not me," Tony grinned.

"Did you put soap in this?" McGee asked and wrinkled his nose as he pulled the lid off his cup and sniffed it. Tony rolled his eyes and looked at him.

"Too late for soap. I would've put salt in it but I didn't have the time," Tony teased. McGee sipped it and smiled, putting the lid back on. "Seee? I can be nice when I want to!"

"Nice by accident, you mean," Kate snorted.

"I'm putting soap in your coffee next time," Tony said. Kate made a face.

"I drink TEA, Tony," she sighed and pulled the lid off her cup fulle expecting to see brown liquid filling it. Instead, the aroma of lemon tea filled her nostrils and she smiled happily as she put the lid back on. "Funny," she stuck out her tounge at Tony. "You know, if you'd drink tea once in a while.."

"Not until they come out with a tea tasting like pizza. Until then, you can have your warm water for yourself," Tony grinned widely. "So Boss, what do you have?" Tony looked at Gibbs who was draining his cup alread.

"I have squat," Gibbs growled. "Detective Dale's dead, the evidence was lost in a fire that happened to start in the area this case was located. The files, the evidence, statements, all gone so Maryland's off the list. Baltimore searched everywhere and found an old photo of the body."

"That it?" Tony asked, frowning. "The file was thicker than Jack's beerbelly last time I saw it!" Tony's frown deepened. "Someone has access to information they shouldn't," Tony muttered as an afterthought. "That means I've worked with whoever this is!"

"Was thinking along the same lines," Gibbs said. Granted, he didn't consider the possibility that Tony had worked with whoever had done this but that was a real and frightening possibility. In that case, the killer knew more about Tony than Tony probably did. Killers had a keen sence for people and looking right through them.

"The killer's patient, he's clever, and he's overpowered a marine. A damn strong and fit one according to his file," Tony said and frowned as he flicked through the file again. "That means the killer's strong too. And quick. He's good at not leaving evidence behind...Boss?" Tony asked as he frowned at the name of the file.

"Yes?" Gibbs was staring intently at Tony. He sometimes wondered how the young mans brain worked. Tony seemed to connect the dots where others failed, and his theories were often proved right when Gibbs let him follow through on his instincts.

"Why did our killer leave a note for both of us?" Tony asked.

"That one's easy," Kate said. Tony and Gibbs looked at her, as did McGee. "Tony, you're good at taking orders. You're not allowed on a case, and you stay off it. Gibbs on the otherhand is famous for getting his man if he's on the case or not. The killer wants Gibbs to come after him. He's playing with you."

"Sounds about right," Gibbs gave a nod and stood. "I'm going down to Ducky. DiNozzo, go down to Abs, bring her something and get results."

"What are we supposed to do?" McGee piped up.

"Look for anything that can identify our killer. Kate, try to use some charm on Baltimore and Maryland, find out more about the fire and try to get them off their asses in Baltimore. Turn the damn policebuilding upside down if you have to. I want those files!" Gibbs stalked off. Tony stood as well.

-0-

"Gibbs, I have NOTHING for you right now," Abby sighed as the volume was dialled down on her stereo.

"Good thing I'm not Gibbs," Tony placed a cup of Caf Pow! on her desk. She jumped around with a smile and hugged Tony, wrapping her arms around him. "Hey hey hey, what's wrong?" Tony pushed her away again.

"You're warm," Abby said.

"I'm Italian," Tony shrugged.

"No, you're REALLY warm. Like...fever warm. I'm calling Ducky, because if you get sick or you start to cough you could get like, pneumonia, isn't that what Pitt said?" she didn't wait for an answer before continuing even thought Tony had opened his mouth to answer her, "Yeah he did. He said 'Tony, you'll be more prone to bouts of pneumonia' and now that I think about it he sounded a lot like Ducky when he said it. Do you know Ducky once told me you could die of pneumonia? Not like I didn't already know that b-"

"ABBY!" Tony said loudly and Abby looked at him.

"Rambling again, sorry Tony. But you're really really hot. PLEASE let me call Ducky? Just so I can soothe my fears?"

"Abby I..." Tony was about to say 'I don't want another doctor NEAR me' but then he saw the look in her eyes and he gave a small nod. Abby's greatest fear was losing the team, or see them splitting up. And now she was faced with the threat of a serialkiller going after both himself and Gibbs, her silver fox, so of course she was scared for him. Extra protective even. Overprotective.

"Ducky? I think Tony has a fever, could you come up to my lab?" Abby asked as soon as the phone was picked up.

"_Uuuuh...I'll tell Doctor Mallard, Abby," _Jimmy Palmer answered. Abby hung up and turned to Tony with a smile. Then she hugged him again.

"Thank you," she said, thanking him for letting her soothe her own fears for his physical well being. "So, while we wait, tell me about your lovelife!" she grinned.

"Nothing to tell," Tony answered honestly with a shrug which pulled on his stitches. Damnit, he had to stop doing that! Abby frowned.

"No new encounters?" she asked, not quite believing him. "That sucks, Tony. We're going clubbing one night, and you're going to get your groove back."

"That's just it, Abs, I don't think I want it back. Stuff's complicated right now and it isn't fair to drag some unsuspecting woman into all of it. Besides, until we've caught this killer I'd be putting her in danger anyway. It's just not worth it anymore, Abs."

"Anthony Damien DiNozzo Junior!" Abby's tone of voice startled Tony and she glared at him, hands on her hips as she tapped her foot impatiently, "I know you, and you love women and sex. And the occasional man and sex too but that's not the point! You're not giving up on your lovelife just because some crazy idiot is out there playing games!"

"Okay, okay. Just...don't say that so LOUD, Abby!" Tony sighed. "Y'know, this might not be run like the military but a lot of people FROM the military helps run this joint. Okay? So just...keep it on the down low," Tony said. Abby nodded and made a motion as if zipping her mouth shut. "Thanks."

"Ah, dear boy. We came as soon as we got Abigail's message. Let's take a look, shall we?" Ducky asked. "Abigail, may I use your ballistics room?"

"Sure, go ahead. I can talk to Gibbs while you do it," Abby grinned and Tony followed Ducky into the room with the glass doors. He headed over to a chair in a more secluded part of the room, where neither Abby or Gibbs could see them.

"Now, Anthony, do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Ducky sat on another office chair with wheels on it.

"Honestly, I haven't got a clue, Ducky. I don't know why Abby thinks I have a fever and-" he was cut off when Ducky placed a hand on his forehead...or tried to, anyway. Tony toppled his chair back and crashed to the floor watching as Ducky's face morphed into a look of complete shock.

"Everything allright in here?" Gibbs's voice drifted to him.

"We're fine, I toppled my chair over," Tony answered lightly as he got up. Great, now his back was hurting AND itching like crazy. Tony heard the doors close and looked through them to see Gibbs going back to Abby. "Sorry about that Ducky," Tony smiled a bit. "Go ahead and do your doctor thing," Tony grinned now and Ducky smiled warmly as he put a hand to Tony's forehead.

"A tad warm...possibly a small fever...all right, take your shirt off and let me listen to your heart and lungs," Ducky said. Without thinking, Tony did as instructed, waiting for Ducky to return. "That's quite an impressive bruise you have there Anthony," Ducky moved behind Tony as a light went on in Tony's brain. His head snapped up but it was too late, because Ducky had already seen his back if his gasp was anything to go by. "What on earth happened?" Ducky whispered.

"I had a disagreement with a glass table. Sorry Ducky I meant to tell you but it kinda...slipped my mind with all this excitement going on. It isn't everyday I get a crazy stalker who happens to be a serialkiller you know," Tony tried to smoothe things out. It didn't work.

"I know when you're lying, Anthony, but I'll let it slide for now. It just so happens that I found the source of your fever, three of these wounds are infected, one is seeping some pus and you've popped several stitches. I'll need to clean your back and see if there's anything else I can do for you. Didn't you notice this?" Ducky asked.

"Uhm," Tony thought back, "It kind of went...painless? Then itchy. Real itchy," Tony said.

"That's all signs of infection, Anthony!" Ducky sighed, "Hnestly I don't even know why I bother giving you or Jethro instructions, you never follow them anyway and I'm left with cleaning up the messes. You know Anthony, I once met this man in Africa, he was the luckiest man I had ever met, he survived a hippopotamus attack."

"A hippo?" Tony asked as he sat down backwards on his chair. This way he'd be able to lean on the backsupport and let Ducky take care of his back. "Hippo's attack people?"

"Why yes," Ducky sprayed Tony's back with iodine. It was the only thing he had that would be able to take care of cleaning all the wounds in a way that would really save some time and work. And Tony's back. "Hippo's are actually responsible for more deaths than all other animals in Africa. They're a fascinating sort of animal you know, but very aggressive. Dangerous, in fact this man had a hole through his leg and decided to rely on the local witch-doctor who provided his wound with some herbs. Naturally, things all went south very quickly," Ducky looked closer at some of the wounds, ignoring Tony's small hisses of pain.

"What do you mean south?" Tony asked.

"Well, he began losing feeling in his leg, and it began itching a lot. After that he developed a fever," Ducky continued prodding some of the wounds, extracting pus from a few of them.

"Then what happened?" Tony winced as Ducky pressed on one of the deeper wounds and felt Ducky retract his hands.

"Well, he absolutely refused to have 'the white man' which happened to be me, look at his wounds. He believed the Gods would take care of it, but they didn't. Soon it began to smell like almonds and you do know what that means, don't you?" Ducky cleaned the last of the wounds. "I'm going to restitch some of these."

"Go ahead," Tony sighed. "Is it going to take long? And what happened with hippo guy?" Tony stretched slightly, recieving a slight slap to the back of his head.

"Don't move. I'm going to numb the area slightly and then tell you about the man while I stitch," Ducky smiled and brought out the needle. After numbing the area, watching Tony tense as he injected around the wounds, Ducky began stitching Tony back up. "Now, the smell of almonds is generally associated with gangrene, which would mean the man would lose his leg. When I finally convinced the man to let me take a look, I discovered the leg was indeed heavily infected but not with gangrene. The witch doctor had based his medicine on almonds, can you believe it?" Ducky chuckled.

"That's pretty weird," Tony frowned, but of course Ducky couldn't see it. "What happened to the guy?"

"Well, I provided him with antibiotics and did my best. Unfortunately he passed three months later when a crocodile ate him, poor soul," Ducky sighed.

"So he died...but it was unrelated?" Tony frowned. "Ducky I'm not following here," Tony continued as his frown deepened. "First you start off telling me about infections and gangrene and then the guy gets eaten by a croc?"

"Well," Ducky went on to another wound, "It just so happens that he never really recovered and I had to amputate his leg. He was thrilled to be alive as you can understand but he needed food for his family."

"Wait, you said there was no gangrene! Why did you amputate?" Tony asked.

"Because no matter what I did, gangrene did develop and there was no other choice but to amputate."

"NOW I get it. You're telling me this so I'll pay more attention to wounds, right?" Tony asked. "Ducky?" He recieved no answer. "Right?"

"Well," Ducky sat back, "Let me put some gauze on and wrap you in some bandages and then you'll be ready to go. No heavy lifting, no running, no falling, and sleep on your stomach for a while. You'll be good as new."

"With a shitload of scars," Tony added thoughtfully.

"That is the price of glass tables I'm afraid," Ducky sighed. He knew the young man wasn't being truthfull but he couldn't chance calling him on it right now. The team was too distracted as it was, and they couldn't afford to make a mistake with a serialkiller playing with two of their own.

-0-

AN: Why yes, I did in fact pull that story right out of my ass. I just want it to look...fairly normal. But then again this is me so...


	5. Trust

Sitting by his machine, Christopher Pacci had trouble concentrating on the cold case in front of him. His right leg was jumping up and down in a fast rythm and he was tapping a steady rythm on his desk with his left hand. His team looked worried as they shot eachother glances before looking at Chris and then looking back into their files again. It was Senior Field Agent Donovan Nickles that finally mustered up the courage to ask what was wrong...and was rewarded with a glare that would've sent Gibbs packing. How the **hell **could Tony make him promise not to talk to Gibbs about something so...**wrong**! Beating your grown son until he bled, your grown son who happened to be a Fed no less, was just...**wrong**! He had to do something. He **had** to.

-0-

"Now Anthony, I can't prescribe any painkillers or antibiotics because my patients generally doesn't need medicating, and you seem to be in need of both, no arguing on this. I'm going to tell Jethro that you shouldn't be lifting anything heavy or bend down too much, and that if he sees you pushing yourself too far he should send you home," Ducky watched as Tony grabbed his shirt and pulled it on himself. Tony frowned at Ducky.

"You can't do that! Ducky I need to work! I'm fine!" Tony felt himself gaining steam, he was a grown man and he could pace himself...mostly. Ducky threatening him with Gibbs was just taking it a step too far. "I'm **forbidding** you to talk to Gibbs about any sort of injury I have."

"Antho-"

"No, Ducky. It isn't life-threatening, it isn't something that will stop me from doing my job right, and it won't stop me running or shooting so you really don't have to tell Gibbs anything. And I'm **forbidding** you to speak to Gibbs about it. I'm a grown man and I can pace myself. Don't treat me like a damn kid!" Tony growled. Ducky blinked, genuinly surprised at the outburst before he sighed and nodded.

"At least follow my advice and see your doctor to get antibiotics and painkillers. I promise you that I won't say anything to Jethro **unless** you do something foolish and I have to put my foot down. All bets are off if you injure yourself further," Ducky stood his ground, unfamiliar with this new and angry Tony. Tony seemed to think about it for a minute before nodding, shoulders lowering again.

"Deal. I'll set up an appointment with my doc and get the damn pills, and I'll take them. But you can't tell Gibbs anything about my injuries. And no, you can't put your foot down unless I'm a danger to the team, then I'm all yours and you may tell Gibbs whatever you feel like telling him. I'm sick of everyone being so damn concerned with my health and my mental status that you break all sorts of confidences claiming you 'mean well'," Tony made quotations marks in the air as he said the last two words, "it stops right here and now, Ducky. No matter what Gibbs says or does, you don't get to tell him jack shit! Capische?" Tony's Italian accent came through on the last word and the anger and hurt in his words surprised Ducky even further than earlier events.

"All right," Ducky said. Tony nodded and put his suitjacket on before heading through the double doors and staring at Christopher Pacci standing right in front of Gibbs. Narrowing his eyes he glared at Chris behind Gibbs's back.

"Hey Chris," Tony said, adopting a neutral expression onto his face as Gibbs turned around.

"What did Ducky say?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm going to live," Tony retorted and Gibbs huffed. "I'm okay Boss. What's Chris doing here?"

"Never got to ask before you came barging out here," Gibbs answered him.

"Oh really? Is it **very** important, Chris?" Tony asked and Gibbs frowned at the tone. Calm but dangerous, Gibbs had only heard Tony use that tone of voice once before and he had never wanted to hear it used on a friend.

"Errrr...no," Chris said and whirled around before hurrying out of Abby's lab.

"Oh Chris, hold up, I need to talk to you," Tony said and hurried after Chris. Gibbs glared after the two as they disappeared out the doors and out of his sight.

"Hinky," Abby's voice reached him and Gibbs looked at her. "The word you're looking for is 'hinky', Gibbs. Tony's acting really weird."

"I'm going to talk to Ducky," Gibbs went in through the door and saw Ducky packing up his things. "What's with DiNozzo?"

"I'm not at liberty to say, Jethro," Ducky sighed. Gibbs crossed his arms, glaring at Ducky and expecting him to keep talking. Ducky paused his actions and looked at Gibbs. "Really, Jethro, I'm not at liberty to speak to you about Anthony's health, but I can assure you he's able to work."

"Yeah?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow as he watched Ducky picking up the last of his things and putting them into his bag before hoisting it onto his shoulder. "You're usually more talkative, Duck," Gibbs pointed out.

"Yes, well, I'm afraid we have been misusing Anthony's trust for far too long. He wished for confidenciality and he will have it. I'm not at liberty to speak about him to you unless it endangers the team in any way," Ducky sighed as he paused besides Gibbs, "And unfortunately, it does not. I'll see you later, Jethro," Ducky walked past him and Gibbs turned to glare at the retreating form of the elderly ME. He spotted Abby and she signed to him.

_H-I-N-K-Y._

Gibbs had to agree with that.

-0-

Tony slapped the emergency brakes lever on the elevator and it jolted, stopping. He turned to Chris with eyes filled to the brim with anger.

"I told you not to talk to Gibbs about what happened! What I told you was between us and not between me, you, and NCIS! I'm not the property of **anyone **and I'd appreciate you keeping your god damn promise!" Tony yelled the last few words in anger, watching Chris take a step back. Taking a deep breath, Tony drew himself up to his full height, leaning over Chris, a method he used on suspects to intimidate them into speaking. "If I hear a word of this from anyone, I'll personally go see the Director about it. Am I making myself clear?" Tony growled, voice dangerously low. Chris swallowed but decided to push back so he too drew himself to his full height even though he was lower than Tony.

"You're making yourself perfectly clear Agent DiNozzo. I don't appreciate you trying to intimidate me, I'm team leader and you are **not**, you are purpously putting yourself in a dangerous situation where the outcome is either being hurt or killed. That makes for a pretty convincing case with the psych department don't you think?" Chris asked. Tony snorted.

"Sure, tell psych. Go ahead Chris. Really, go right fucking ahead okay? Oh **wait**, you completely forgot that I have two coverstories, a long history of people breaking my trust and people spreading rumors about me. I can **easily **convince psych to let me back on the job. You're going to lose, do you **get** that? Sometimes you need to get the bigger picture, Chris. It isn't always about **me**, you have to trust that I know what I'm doing. Or, you could break my trust and go blabber to Gibbs who will go all mother hen on me and send me home. But if you think I'm not going to begin to evade you, or the end result is me quitting, then you're sadly mistaken. You can either own up to the fact that you promised, or you could do what you want to do, namely talk to Gibbs. Which is it, Chris? What do you want to see happen? Me doing my damn job, or me leaving?" Tony was being unfair, playing as dirty as he could possibly play, but he couldn't afford Gibbs to see his weaknesses, not now, not with a killer hunting them and possibly the team.

"I fucking hate you," Chris growled and slapped the lever.

"Feeling is mutual," Tony muttered.

-0-

AN: I wrote it like this because I always feel bad for Tony. Everyone's so concerned for him they break all kinds of confidencialities and it pisses me off. If it was reality, they'd all be fired instantly.


	6. Unless you get hurt again

When the elevator stopped, a very pissed off Chris Pacci and a calmer Anthony DiNozzo exited the cart. Gibbs narrowed his eyes, Pacci sure looked like he had something on his mind, and Tony...something was wrong with that boy, that much was clear. Tony took his seat and booted up his computer as Gibbs strode forward, standing by Tony's desk.

"You making a habit of pissing off team leaders DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, sipping his coffee. Tony looked up and squashed his anger like a bug under his gucci heal. "Or is it just Pacci?" Okay scratch that, anger was bubbling to the surface again. Tony sighed, why the hell would Gibbs do this time and time again? He ALWAYS pried into Tony's personal life and tried to fix things. Last time had just gone so fucking swell that it landed him in this mess...well that wasn't exactly true but Gibbs...Gibbs should really stop it. "DiNozzo, I'm waiting." Tony collected himself, he wouldn't rise to the bait.

"Just Pacci," Tony said simply and tapped a few keys on the computer. Gibbs was still standing there, christ what did the man WANT from him? A full confession? A hint? A kiss or something? Because it would be a cold day in hell before he ever kissed his boss. "Anything you wanted Boss?" Tony asked, not looking up.

"Nope," Gibbs answered, sipping his coffee as his piercing blue eyes stared with full intensity at Tony. Any minute now...he remained for a full minute, just staring at the man, and then retreated, beaten. It had always worked before: he'd stare at Tony, Tony would break down and spill the beans, Gibbs would clean up the mess and pick up the pieces of Tony and ductape it back together. This time, however, he was beaten at the staregame and he began to question why. What was so important that Tony would need to hide it entirely from him? He was threatening friends, threatening Ducky and Pacci to keep quiet about it. Speaking of...Pacci was on his way out..."Going for coffee," Gibbs said and walked away. He could feel Tony's eye burning a hole through his back and knew that Tony was acutely aware of why Gibbs was leaving.

-0-

"Pacci, wait," Gibbs said and Pacci turned around. He'd just opened his cardoor when Gibbs stopped him. The man approached, blue eyes questioning. "What's this all about?" Chris definetly knew something, the man was averting his eyes.

"Don't know what you're talking about," the man finally muttered with a sigh. "Look, Gibbs, I'd tell you everything if I could but Tony...I promised him not to say anything. He'll come clean when it's over."

"See that's a statement I can't put away," Gibbs said, crushing his empty cup and throwing it away. "He involved in anything criminal?" Chris shook his head, "Some bad business or something?" Chris shook his head and Gibbs opened his mouth, Chris cutting him off.

"Gibbs, trust me on this, Tony's going to walk away if I breach his confidence this time, I'm serious! Just let me go home and sleep for a few hours so I can protect Tony right, alright?" Chris was clearly frustrated by the muzzle Tony had put on him and Gibbs relented with a nod.

"Anything happens to him, anything bad, your ass is mine, understood?" Gibbs growled and walked away. He was being stonewalled by his own people! DAMNIT, how hard could it be to get someone to tell him something about Tony's situation? However, he could make some calls. Speaking of, his phone buzzed insistantly against his thigh and he picked up. "Gibbs," he said.

_"Boss, another body. Killer's picking up speed. Want me to get a team out there? You KNOW we're not going to be allowed out there."_

"Doesn't mean we're not going. Gas the truck, DiNozzo."

-0-

Tony stared out the window. He really hadn't thought this through and now he was paying for it by being stuck in a car with Gibbs. Well crap. And Gibbs was driving slowly, that was NEVER a good sign. And staring. Dear God his eyes weren't even watching the road anymore.

"Boss I'd appreciate it if you watched the road," Tony said and groaned inwardly. Great, now he'd given away that he knew what Gibbs was doing, but it worked because Gibbs turned back to watching the road, speeding up in the process.

"Ducky's pretty angry. Pacci's pretty angry. Got Abs pretty worried," Gibbs said to gauge Tony's reaction. Tony merely shrugged. "Got me pretty worried too." Tony rolled his eyes. "What?" Gibbs asked sternly.

"For God's sake Gibbs. Really. I have a life besides work, you know? I respect that the team doesn't tell eachother everything, and this time its my turn. Just because I don't tell you something doesn't mean I'm in trouble," Tony sighed, except he really was in trouble and not sure if he'd ever get OUT of that trouble, "You guys always get to have your little secrets and stuff but you ALWAYS pry into MY secrets."

"Because your secrets are usually pretty destructive," Gibbs deadpanned.

"Thanks. Really Boss, I appreciate it," Tony grunted, "But just...stay out of my personal life alright? I try to feed you guys as much as I can during the weekdays but its like gossip girl or something, its NEVER enough for you guys so you dig dig dig and I'm getting pretty fed up," Tony glared out the window and missed Gibbs's surprised look. He'd been about to snap at Tony when he realized they really DID go after Tony if he had a secret.

"Fair enough," Gibbs answered and Tony mentally brought out a parade. He'd gotten Gibbs off his- "Unless you get hurt again." The parade was hit by a bus. Well crap, he'd have to ask his father not to hurt him where it could be seen.

"Fair enough," Tony answered.

-0-

AN: Bet you're all surprised eh? Yeah I bet you're all surprised. Short chappy but better than nothing xD


End file.
